Scott and I are currently in New York prepping for a wedding this Saturday! We flew in earlier tonight, dropped off our stuff at the hotel, and strolled around outside, coming across this cozy late night gem where we refueled on French onion soup & bacon burgers. We’ll be here until Tuesday so email correspondence might be a bit sporadic until then, but be sure to follow us on Twitter to keep up with all our big city shenanigans!

I leave you with a quick photo from a recent photoshoot I did with some photographer friends at the beautiful Condor’s Nest Ranch. More to come soon {including some film}!

Elizabeth & Dennis held a beautiful wedding along the harbor in San Pedro last month. From our very first meeting, they expressed really wanting to personalize their day – tying in elements of cars (Dennis’s passion), naming the tables after inside jokes & meaningful aspects of their relationship (some of my faves were “Monica & Chandler” and “Chicken McNuggets”) and creating an overflowing candy bar that their guests went crazy over! Elizabeth kindly shared all their different ideas with me as their planning process unfolded, which made seeing everything come to life on the day of even more exciting! She was a great planner & super organized bride, but she wisely brought on the fantastic Kristeen Labrot & her team for the day of, to ensure every moment unfolded without a hitch :)

I feel so blessed to have met such a sweet couple who trusted us so fully to document their amazing wedding day. It was the perfect blend of beautiful, touching, & outrageously fun!

LOVE her purple shoes. And the purple-hued pompoms she had strewn all about the getting-ready room! It was my first time arriving in the morning & seeing a room decorated in such a cute way!

Love this moment Scott captured of Dennis & his mom…

Was so excited that we stumbled upon this gorgeous field of wildflowers…

If you look closely, you can see all the kites being flown from the top of the hill that day…

Venue: Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Doubletree Hotel in San Pedro
Coordinator: Kristeen Labrot
Make Up Artist: Christina Yi
DJ/MC: DJ James Lee
Photobooth: Instabooths

There are many many parts of Carrie & Matt’s day that stole my heart.

There was the warm & homey Senshin Temple, where they had an intimate Japanese Buddhist ceremony set against a breathtakingly ornate altar.
There were the elegantly clean & modern chrysanthemum arrangements & bouquets.
Then there were the millions of white pom-poms, lovingly created by hand and strung above the courtyard for the reception. {I could have seriously spent all day just photographing those alone – it was such a simple concept, yet resulted in some of the most amazing reception decor I’ve seen!}
And then – then there was the In N Out truck they brought in, wafting delicious smells across the entire temple & resulting in happy tummies among all the guests. (And photographers.)

But the kicker, the big thing that made their day so special & pulled so earnestly at my heartstrings, was Carrie & Matt themselves and the amazing, genuine, uplifting love they share. I truly believe that somehow, someway, I have completely lucked out and get to work with some of the kindest & sweetest couples that walk this earth, and it brings me so much joy to see these coules on one of their happiest days, having found the one person that truly completes them. Carrie & Matt of course were no exception, and it was truly inspiring watching how happy they are together.

Do enjoy the photos of the poofs, and the burgers, and the flowers, but ultimately I hope these images reflect the love that filled every moment of this special day :)

Loved this moment post-ceremony – Carrie & Matt embraced right after their exit and held each other for a few minutes… even as guests were exiting and milling around the area. It was such a sweet intimate moment…

Love these mixed CDs Carrie & Matt made as fun & personalized favors!

The paper lanterns below all had unique designs created by Carrie’s friend!